Thanks for the info, Comrade! Those crowd stats are incredible, 100,000+ for non-pro sport, there's nothing like that in the UK. I've always been aware college football was popular and so always had a sense that I was missing out... time to play catchup methinks.

If Notre Dame are one of the most successful teams and yet they don't play in a conference then what are they winning? Bowls?

(Great chatting with you all, I've got to work now but will check in later).

Notre Dame have won a number of national titles. That's because of rankings. They still play good opponents due to their prestige, and don't need to be a part of a conference. How good a team is tends to be based on their national rankings rather than their conference wins.